The 143rd Hunger Games
by Primione394
Summary: This is the 143rd Hunger Games. Only Katniss won the 74th Hunger Games and the rebellion never happened. Enjoy! :) Co-written with Primrue394
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1:_**

"Nikita Bueor," announced our Capitol escort, Evangeline Eilicy. I looked around, strangely calm, wondering who was going to volunteer for me. Usually the volunteers are quick and eager to shout. But no one said a word. Then it hit me.

"Nikita!" yelled my sister, Dakota, a second after I realized.  
"No! No! Someone else volunteer. Please!" she screamed. Tears were pouring down her face, but I kept my feelings to myself. I couldn't cry here. Not in front of everyone.

She looked almost as devastated as I felt. My worst nightmare had come true. Someone was meant to volunteer. I wasn't going to go into the games. Not this year. Not until I was 18. Not until I was ready. But at least I had a chance. A very slim chance.

When I was 9, I had started training, because my parents wanted me to be ready. Not that I wanted to kill innocent children but because my parents wanted me to be ready for when I was 18 and I was going to volunteer for The Hunger Games. They thought I would have heaps of time to train. Mum and dad got me a personal trainer that had won and knew what to do, Bronxton, to teach me all the skills you would need to win. My parents loved the hunger games. No one thought I would be a tribute, at 14.

I walked up to the stage, feeling as if my legs were made of jelly. I don't know how I did it or how long it took but I eventually made it. I heard Evangeline announce our male tribute and a tall guy with dark brown hair, probably 18, volunteered. How I wish someone had volunteered for me. Even though I hadn't cried out loud my vision was blurry, and I couldn't take anything in properly. My red hair was whipping me across the face.

"Our tributes for the 143rd Hunger Games, Nikita Bueor and Myric Deos!" Evangeline said as the boy stood next to me. It was all coming true. I was going into the games.

I cried my heart out in the justice building as I was saying goodbye to my family. My trainer, Bronxton, came in and scolded me.  
"Stop showing so much weakness. You're going to win this and do your parents proud, Nikita, I know your parents have waited years for this opportunity," she glared at my sister, but I could see pity beneath the anger.

"You should be ashamed." I wasn't sure if she meant me or Dakota, because she was supposed to volunteer a few years back, but Dakota was pregnant.

She couldn't volunteer and we had to watch the poor girl she was supposed to volunteer for, Jaidyn, be killed in the bloodbath by a bloodthirsty district seven guy. She was only 12 and hadn't done a day of training in her whole life. We all know that Dakota really wanted to volunteer but I didn't let her because she was 6 months pregnant. Our whole family was hated that day for letting Jaidyn die. As if it was our fault .That's probably why no one volunteered for me.

I said a quick goodbye to my mum and dad. They didn't care about me. All they cared about was the glory of winning. I moved on to Dakota and I started crying again.  
"Please, please survive. I need you. Lyxanda needs you too! Please come home, I don't care what you do just come back to me," she was trying not to cry. I looked at the chubby toddler sitting on Dakota's lap. He is my nephew. He is the reason Dakota didn't volunteer and I am glad she didn't. His father had abandoned Dakota as soon as he found out about him. He had moved to a different part of the district and hasn't been back since.

"I promise. I will return. I will see you again. Don't worry." I reassured Dakota while on the verge of tears myself. But the truth was that I had no idea what would happen. I looked into her emerald green eyes and told her "I love you" I noticed that she was only wearing one diamond stud and the other ear lobe was empty but didn't think much about it.

Everyone had left the room by now. Or so I thought. Suddenly Jaidyn's parents came into the room and I gasped. Her mum began talking.  
" You deserve this you know. You let Jaidyn die. Now Myric is going in. He will kill you in the cruellest way possible. He will come back and you won't. You've been warned." and with that, they left the room.

Bronxton, Brutus, Myric and I were ushered onto the train that would take us to the Capitol. The masterminds of these gruesome games. It was silent and I could feel the tension in the room.  
"So, Bronxton, how did you survive?" I said to break the ice. She had been a previous victor.  
"Ahh. My glory days." she started off. "I was 17 when it all happened. I was so excited. I couldn't wait to get out there. I won in the matter of days. The fastest win ever."

She ranted on for a few more minutes when suddenly she looked down and her eyes became red.

"But it cost me. It cost pain and agony to kill the young kids. It cost me grief and guilt to realize that they had family too. It also cost me the love of my life" she said tears leaking out of her eyes. I had never seen this side of her before, I had always thought of her as the tough, emotionless trainer and victor she pretended to be, focused on winning and bringing glory to District two. Winning and nothing else.  
"Was he reaped with you? Why didn't anyone volunteer?" I asked. I saw how much pain it brought to her to remember.  
"No. He had stayed home. He was cheering for me from day one. I was so excited to see him when I got home." she paused and took a breath.

"But then I was taken away by the peacekeepers again for my victory tour. He waited for me. He didn't do anything but wait. He didn't want to leave the railway until I was back. I did come back, but I ignored him. I was too busy in my life to even think about him anymore." it was causing her more pain each second to remember.

"He would wait in the Victors Village for me every day, well, until the security was lifted. He didn't know and he came to my house like usual. But the peacekeepers stopped him. They said he need special permission so see me. He tried to get past them, but they shot him. I heard the scream and rushed out. But I was too late. He was dead and it was all my fault."

The story stopped and Bronxton went to her room. I keep of thinking of Broxton's story. If the games did that to strong, fierce Bronxton, then what will they do to me? I looked out the windows at all districts all I passed them. When dinner was ready and Bronxton, Evangeline, the other boy from district 2 and I were all seated, an Avox came out and served us. I looked at my plate and my mouth watered. We were having roast and there were potatoes, carrot, sprouts and the roast beef was cooked to perfection. It was so juicy, and blood oozed out when I took a bite. It reminded me of what I had to do. I felt queasy inside and I suddenly wasn't hungry.

"I am going to go to my room." I said getting up from the table.

I ran down the hall to where I was staying. I opened the door and ran inside. I collapsed on the bed and cried. I know what I have to do but I hadn't thought about it much. Now, as we were pulling up to the Capitol, it was all setting in. I had to kill people to see my family again. No. No. This isn't me. This isn't who I am. This isn't what I do. Bronxton walking into the room and I dried my tears.

She gazed into the distance.

"I'm sorry" I whispered. And I really was. Broxton blinked snapping back into reality.

" Kita, please don't tell anyone about this, the Capitol will kill me for revealing this. Literally."

"I won't. I promise," I was making too many empty promises for my own good but at least I could keep this one. Hopefully.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as I step of the train people wearing the weirdest outfits that I have ever seen, wave and cheer. I am ushered into a building and after a few twists and turns I get pushed into a room with curtains, a bed, a bench with makeup, perfumes and who knows what else. I get ordered to strip and lay down on the bed, so I do. Bronxton told me that it is NOT a good idea to get on the bad side of your stylists. You will end up with he worst outfits you can imagine and how are you meant to get sponsors looking like a piece of garbage?

As I am stripping, I feel sharp object in the pocket of my pants. I pull it out and found a small diamond earring wrapped in a tissue. It was one of Dakota's. Tears welled up in my eyes. She had given it to me before the reaping and I had completely forgotten about it. It's all I have from home. All I have left to remind me of what I will never see again

After a few hours of being scrubbed and waxed I am sore all over, smell like flowers and haven't got a single hair on my body.

"Okay, now we're ready to see your stylist," says one of my prep team members, Fehria in her high-pitched Capitol accent._ '_Nooooo!' I thought to myself as someone called my stylist into the room.

" Hey, Nikita, I'm Alivior, your stylist" says a woman with the blondest hair I've ever seen.

"I'm sorry you and Myric don't have the best costumes for the chariot parade. The original stylist was fired last night because the costumes he made were inappropriate for children." She revealed the most hideous clothes I had ever seen. A thin shiny piece of fabric that wrapped around me like a toga. It was so long I was worried I would trip over it. IT didn't even look like it had been cut, just freshly bought as a last resort and trimmed from a big roll hastily. I had a crown, but it wasn't really a crown, more like some foil wrapped around my beautiful fiery red locks, sticking out at strange angles and making me look horrible.. My shoes were non-existent. My skin was painted with a thick and chunky goop that was meant to be paint. It wasn't even all over my body, just globs here and there. My face was covered with silver glitter that wasn't even put on nicely, just sort of thrown into my face. I groaned. I was going to be paraded around in the worst costume in Hunger Games history. I was dressed like an idiot and about to get slaughtered.

The lights are blinding. I stand and wave. I smile and try to look like I'm not about to die in a few days. My costume is itchy and annoying. I wish I was at home with Dakota. Normally we would be watching and making fun of all the costumes. Now it has all changed. Now I am the one everyone's watching. All 12 of the chariots pull up to a big opening and our President is standing on a platform in front of us. The horses going one by one. When it is my turn, my chariot moves forwards slowly, revealing Myric and I.

. Myric looks at me, grinning his evil grin.

"I'm going to kill you!" he whispers in my ear. I know he's not joking.  
"Welcome tributes to the Capitol," President Snow says sternly "let the 143rd hunger games begin!" Everyone cheers and waves as we keep circling the capitol. They yell my name and many others. I hear "Shine" and "Lake" and even "Myric".

We pull away from the crowd. We piled out of the chariots and all walked in different directions. I felt a sharp glare from behind me. A guy about my age is looking at everyone as they leave. This was the start of the games.

I go to my room and get out of the tacky robe. I sigh with relief as I slip into my bed wear. I climb into bed and toss and turn. Trying to unbraid my hair. I still couldn't stop thinking about all of the other tributes. So many different people. All children. Soon, most of us dead. I think about all the stuff Bronxton has taught me. I can win with this knowledge. I can win if I focus. I can win. I tell myself these words until I drift off to sleep. Then, I hear the scream.

I walk into the training centre, dressed in the plain grey training suit that was in my cupboard. My hair is sopping wet, hanging limply around my shoulders, but I didn't care. I notice everyone else and try to guess their strengths and weaknesses and wonder who made the high-pitched scream.

I walk off to the dagger station. I pick up a set. I look at them. What was I thinking? I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I kept repeating myself until I heard a voice behind me.  
"What are you waiting for wimp. You scared little girl? You scared?"  
I turn around fast. A tall, strong boy (district one I think) is standing there with his arms crossed. He has two boys and a girl standing behind him. I recognize Myric as the boy and I think that the girl is also from district one and the boy is from district 4. I feel anger burning up inside me.  
"You don't belong. You are no one. You'll fail." the girl says sneering down her nose at me. More anger builds up, inside me but I manage to keep it under control.  
"Stop it. Leave me alone." I say weakly.  
"Why? Because you don't have your precious sister her to protect you? You need here to do everything for you?" Myric said to me like I was a little girl. They all smirk at me. That was enough. I was fine with everything else but at the mention of Dakota, I snapped. I scream and raise my arm with the dagger. I start to move my arm forward at a fast pace, but strong fists grabs me. It's was a peacekeeper. Well, two of them. They each grab my wrists and drag me away from the group. I try to restrain but they're too strong. I am pulled into a room with nobody in there but Bronxton.  
"What were you thinking Kita?" she says calmly. Ever since she told me her story, she's been more affectionate.  
"I'm sorry. They were getting to me. They were talking about Dakota." I mumbled. I looked at the floor. Why had I done that?

I was in the arena. People were coming at me from every angle I could see. I whipped my head around frantically.  
"You are no one,"  
"What are you doing little girl,"  
"Do you want your mummy?"  
"You have no one to go back to," the other tributes snickered. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked down. It was a spear.  
"NO! NO! PLEASE! NOOOOO!" I screamed as a I fell to the floor.  
"Nikita. Wake up. Wake up Nikita." I heard a soft voice saying. I sit up. I look around me and realize it was a dream. Well, more of a nightmare. I see Bronxton sitting on my bed. I tell her about the dream.  
"You will get them for ages after the games. You should get used to them. I still get them." Bronxton said strong but calm, and with that, she turned and left the room.

I had my private training up next. Each of us would perform for the gamemakers and then they would give us a score out of 12. Usually our districts gets 8-10. I needed to live up to the expectations. I was thinking of doing daggers, but that's too obvious. I need to do something memorable. Something to blow their socks out of the water. Afterall, tis could be the thing deciding my fate. Life or death.

I sit down at a table next to Myric. We will be called into the room one by one. Starting with district one and ending with twelve. It will be boy than girl so I am fourth. I am still thinking of what to do when they start calling the names.

"Hadon Dark, District one." About 15 minutes later, they call the girl from district one in.

"Shine Drewer, district one." I am running out of time to think. As I think I hear a whisper.

"Hey wimp. You ready to die?" I whip my head around just in time to see Myric turning away. He will be my first kill. Then Hadon and Shine. Wait, what am I thinking? I won't kill. I sigh. I'm changing for sure and I can't stop. This is the new me.

A while later, I am called in. I see the gamemakers in a room and they look at me. I take a deep breath and walk over to the bow and arrow station. I pick up a bow and a quiver of arrows. Then I go over to the knot tying station. I grab a long piece of rope. I tie the end of the rope to the end of the arrow using a bowline knot. I then go over to the climbing station that is filled with trees. I set my bow up and aim for the top of a strong tree. I let go of my bow and th arrow soars through the air. It sticks right into the trunk. The rope unravels beneath the tree and I grab it and start climbing. I have made it to the top of the tree in a matter of seconds. I look over to the gamemakers and one of them nods with approval. Just then I hear the buzzer, signifying the end of my session. I climb down, ravel the rope up and leave the room. I am pretty pleased it's myself and I hope it's enough to get me sponsors. I hope.

That night, I was too nervous to eat. I thought about my session a lot. I was worried I would get a low score and that I would have no sponsors. I mean, who would grade climbing trees a 12? If I got no sponsors I wouldn't survive. No way in hell. From the look on Myric's smug face, he had done well.  
"So, how did things go today?" Asked Evangeline.  
"Good. I am going to get a 12 and win with all those sponsors that I will get. But I am not saying what I did in front of wimp." said Myric smugly.  
"I was okay. I might get an 8." I said quietly.  
"Yay!" said Evangeline not noticing the tension in the room.

After dinner Evangeline, Myric, Brutus, Bronxton and I were all sitting on the couch waiting for the scores. The Capitol would show the image if a tribute and the score. The Panem anthem began and Evangeline squealed with delight. Hadon got a 10. No surprise there and Shine got a 9. Myric got a 10 and Brutus and Evangeline congratulated him. Then, it was my turn. My face flashed up onto the screen. A number popped up beside my face and it was a 9.  
"Good job Kita. I want to talk to you later." Bronxton whispered in my ear. I looked at the screen at all the other scores. Mostly fives and sixes. The score that surprise me the most was district 7's girl, Lake. She had gotten a 9 as well. I was still wondering what she had done when the anthem played, and the screen went black. Bronxton and I headed up to my room. 

"What did you do in the training session Nikita?" Bronxton asked me.  
"I made a grappling hook from an arrow and a piece of rope. Then I used it." I said shyly.  
"Good job Kita. Be brave. You can win, do me proud Kita." Branxton said to me. I fell asleep listening to her soothing words. Only two days left.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, we had to train for our interview. After a quick shower, I was rushed to breakfast where everyone was gathered.

"So" began Evangeline in her squeaky capitol accent "Today we need to get you two ready for the interviews!"

I groaned and Myric smirked at my discomfort.

"You will each get three and a half hours with your trainers. You" she nodded at me "will be spending four hours with me and this young man will be with me for three" she said, putting her hand on Myric's shoulder. I mimed vomiting to Bronxton, and she had to stifle a laugh.

After a bit of a laugh with Broxton, she decided my interview approach would be funny and flirty with bit of sass. I agreed, mostly because I saw the list of other approaches; cute, sexy, deadly, humble and so many more things that I didn't want to be and that I'm not.

Evangeline was torture, she spent half the ranting on about how great Myric was and the other half teaching me how to survive with frivolous dresses and heels about 5 inches high.

"NO, NO, NO!" she screams at me "not clumping around like a clumsy idiot. You need to be more ladylike!"

After an hour or so I stopped listening to her and the rest of the dreadful day flew past. But another one was waiting for me tomorrow.

I was woken up early again today to get ready for the interviews. An hour of laying down while my prep team paint ,wash, wax and whatever else needed for me to be "presentable" which I did NOT enjoy. Alivior came in with my costume a little later which saved me from the torture. After my dreadful entrance at the opening parade I was sure this couldn't be good but Alivior produced a beautiful but simple white and pastel green dress.

"It's beautiful," I gasped, and she smiled. She put the dress on me. The top half was white with a little mint green lace around the collar and the skirt was a soft pastel green to match the collar. It hung just above my knees but wasn't too tight to walk in, then she showed me my shoes. Six-inch heels bright orange heels.  
"WHAT? NOOOO!" I complained. So, I guess I really was going to be making a fool of myself. Alivior just laughed and pulled out some mint green ballet flats. I glared at her playfully.  
"You should've seen your face!" she laughed softly making a scared and annoyed face to represent what face I had made. I put the soft green shoes on. Perfect. I threw the orange heels at Alivior. Never again did I want to see them!

"Are you ready for this?" Alivior asked softly as she clipped a silver locket around my neck. I opened it up and looked inside. On one side was me, smiling with my hair in soft curls, and on the other side was Dakota, smiling lovingly at Lyxanda. I smiled. I really was ready this time. 

We were all lined up, first Shine, the district one girl, then the district one guy, Hadon, then me. I wish I wasn't so close to the start. I look behind me at the district 12 girl, she is shaking, with nerves, just like I am, but I am only doing it on the inside, Broxton taught me to hide my fear in one of our first lessons. I can hear Caesar Flickerman introducing Shine. I can hear her laughing and Caesar's talking her up to the crowd. I can hear her suddenly go quiet then Caesar does as well as he talks to the crowd about her life back in district one. If Shine, a ruthless murdering career, is getting upset about going into the games, then what will happen to me? I zone out for the rest of the interviews until it's my turn.

I walk onto the stage and sit down on the couch. Caesar is sitting there looking at me. His hair is a bright orange this year. Just like the heels. Alivior popped into my face and I could tell she meant this on purpose. Caesar welcomes me into the room and introduces me to the crowd.

"Please welcome Nikita Bueor from District 2!" Caesar says with heaps of energy. I wave to the crowd looking as calm as possible.

Caesar compliments my dress and I blush slightly

"Thank you Caesar, but Alivior is the one to admire!"

Caesar agreed that she was amazingly talented and then started on my interview.

"So, tell me Nikita. What was it like when you heard your name being called at the reaping?" he asks.

"Well, I was pretty calm at first. I thought someone was going to volunteer. They were supposed to." I say cheekily. The crowd laughs.

"I guess it was a big surprise when no one called out the words that we have all heard a million times. I sudden feeling of dread filled me. I didn't think I could win," I say as Caesar looks at me, intrigued.

"Can you tell me how you got that nine of yours if you didn't think you could win then?" questions Caesar

"I don't think I'm allowed, though I'd love to!"

"What a shame! So, now sitting up here, do you think you can win the games?" Caesar asks me raising his tacky, yellow eyebrows.

"After been here for a while I have realised that I have everything a Victor needs: smarts, strength, speed and a hand for weapons. So watch out District One!" I answer, getting a round of hoots and cheers from the audience.

"I also have a sister and a nephew that I would to anything to go back to" I tell him "anything"

"Well, you've heard it from her! Nikita is not out just yet! I can't wait to see what you do in that arena!" Caesar says standing up and shaking my hand. I leave the room and go sit down with the other tributes that have finished their interviews. I try to listen to everyone else, because to win I have to know everyone else's strengths and weaknesses. I can win. I hope.

It's finally time. I am going into the arena. After all the training sessions, all of the parties, all of the advice, my worst nightmare was coming true. As I walked into the tube that was to take me up, I felt sick. This tube would take me to my certain death.  
"Good luck Kita. Find weapons as soon as you can. You can win. Do it for Dakota." Bronxton said and the tube closed on me.  
"I will." I said and the tube started moving up. Bronxton said something else but I couldn't make out what it was. I was already in the arena.

We had to stand for one minute on a metal plate before a cannon would go off and we could leave. And if we left early, we would get blown up. I looked around at my surroundings. I look at all of my opponents and their facial expressions. Some scared, some ready to kill. I catch Myric looking at me, with murder in his eyes. I gulped. I keep looking . One girl catches my eye. She is fiddling with something. I can't tell what it is but it must be her token. My hand immediately reaches up to my earring. Dakota's is in one ear and the other is empty. I am about to look away from the girl when she drops whatever she was fiddling with. It's a small ring. I see a glint of pink up against the silver. The girl looks frantic as she tries to catch her precious ring and she does catch it. But then she slips. Her foot moves from the platform and you can hear her scream. Half a second later, I can hear a loud explosion and my sight is blocked by the smoke. She has been blown up. I can also hear a cannon which means that someone is dead. All in the first 30 seconds of being in the arena. I look away from her plate and into the middle to the cornucopia. It was overflowing with weapons and backpacks and food. This is where a lot of people go at the start. Most of them getting killed in the process. I saw a bow and quiver of arrows close to a pickle green backpack. I could get that. It was close to me and I was fast. An easy sprint. The minute was almost up. I looked away and saw a massive forest engulfing us. The trees were so thick I couldn't see through them. I was glad about the arena because in previous years it has been plain deserts and most tributes had died from starvation. The minute was nearly up, and I had decided what I was going to do. I was going to sprint and get the bow and arrows and the backpack. The countdown had started. 10...9...8...I got into a running position...7...6...5...I focus on the backpack and bow and arrows...4...3...2...this is it, The 143rd Hunger games are about to begin...1...GO! I sprint as hard as I can, and I see that I am the first to the Cornucopia. I grab my items and dart into the thick bramble of trees. I climb the closest tree all the way to the top like I'm on fire. I look down to the cornucopia. I can see Hadon, Shine and Myric slashing people with enthusiasm. How can they do that? I heard a rustling behind me. I whipped my head around and saw the girl from district 7, the one who got the 9. She was looking at me with her one electric blue eye. Her other eye was emerald green. Just like Dakota's. As she leaped across the trees to me, I saw that she had a knife in her hand. I quickly readied my bow. When she did reach my tree, I was worried that I wouldn't be fast enough and that I would be dead on the first day. I took a deep breath. This would be my first kill and I would have to learn to accept that this was the only way out. My fingers were shaking. They wouldn't let go. When she finally made it my branch, I was about to let go when she shrieked.  
"Please no! I have a family to go back to! Please don't shoot. Please." she said suddenly whilst tears streamed down her face. She looked at me hopefully.  
"But you were going to stab and kill me. I have a family too." I replied, still with my hand on the bow.  
"I swear I wasn't. I wanted an alliance. I saw you at training. You're good. I was going to use the knife in case you tried to kill me," she said sheepishly.  
"Are you sure? If you try and kill me I will be able to defeat you will be the one to die, okay?" I said strongly. "I've had years of training and I can tell when someone wants to betray me"  
"Deal. I will take first shift tonight. What's in your backpack?" she asked.  
"I don't know I haven't opened it yet. Too busy getting away from the Cornucopia. There's a bunch of bloodthirsty idiots slaughtering innocent children. How can they do it?" I asked tears stinging it my eyes from both sadness and anger.  
"I don't know. Let's just open up the backpack." Lake replies. So we do. Inside the backpack is a piece of long rope, a bag of dried fruit, a set of matches, some apples, a water bottle, a knife and a pair of night vision glasses. Not much but enough for now.

"Sorry, I forgot, I'm Nikita"

"Lake"

Then we shake on it.

I look down at all the careers, they run around like maniacs, killing everyone in their way, huge, ugly, grins on their faces. A knife comes whizzing in our direction and I seize Lake, making sure she doesn't get hurt. We got to go sleep.

Lake is entitled for a sleep at 4 am. I wake up but Lake doesn't want to , I make her go, I tell her sleep is compulsory, or else you will get deprived of sleep especially if you are trying not to die. She accepts, but reluctantly.

So I stay awake.


	4. Chapter 4

That night I counted the cannons. Altogether there were 12 which is more really unusual because normally there is only about 8 people killed. The Capitol anthem played and Capitol seal appeared in the sky. They showed us the people killed in order of district. They were both from district three, the girl from four, both five, boy six, girl eight, girl nine, both ten, boy eleven and the girl from twelve. I try and remember who is still alive. Shine, Myric, me, District 4 boy, girl district 6 and Lake. I couldn't remember anyone else. t would be easier said than done to win these games.

I woke Lake up around what I thought was 7am. She groaned and then asked me who had been killed and I told her what I could remember. We made a plan. We would eat a few berries I had found the night before and then pack everything up. After that we would move camp closer to the cornucopia and spy on the careers. We would find out their weaknesses and then attack. I felt happy with this plan because it was pretty good. It might even get us sponsors. \So, Lake got the berries and we ate them. My mouth watered and I forgot about my surroundings. Lake brought me back to earth by pointing another berry bush out. We jumped out of the tree and ran to it. They were tainted purple and smelt amazing. I picked some and was about to eat a handful when I heard someone yell stop. I looked around and saw Shine running towards us. She was panting.  
"Don't eat them. They're nightlock. One bite and you are dead." Shine warned us. I dropped the berries. I looked at Lake. she was glaring at Shine.  
"What's wrong Lake?" I asked.  
"Nothing. Can I talk to you for a second Nikita?" she asked.  
"Sure." I said unsurely. She pulled me off to the side.  
"What are you doing? She just saved us!" I whisper shouted.  
"Look at her though. She is a career. We can't trust her." Lake pointed out. I glanced at Shine. She was trying to climb a tree and was failing miserably.  
"So am I. Please, can we ally with her? One of us could stay up at all times and watch her. Please?" I pleaded.  
"Fine, but if she kills us it is your fault." Lake agreed. The games were on.

_**Chapter 11**_

Shine, Lake and I started to gather our stuff up. We were going to go and find some water as the bottle in the backpack had none.  
"So Shine. Do you have any family at home.?" I asked awkwardly.  
"Yeah, my baby brother and sister are only a few months. Liliana and Careb." she said dreamily. That made me feel even worse.  
"Oh really?" Lake scoffed. She still hated Shine. I knew how she felt. It was how I felt when I meet Lake.  
"Lake." I sighed. She stared daggers at me.  
"What?" she replied angrily as she sharpened her knife. My eyes widened with horror as she looked at Shine then to her knife again.

"Lake, no, you can't sta-" I started.

"Look" she nodded to a squirrel staring at us with curiosity. Lake lunged herself at the squirrel, landing on a nearby tree. Seeing my face, she giggled.

"How do you..." I didn't even have words for what she had done.

" C'mon, Niki, you can do it too, I've been jumping from tree to tree since I was a year old"

"And I thought I could climb trees" I told Lake.

We both burst into laughter. But deep down we knew we would never be truly happy ever again. The games damaged you beyond repair, I will never know why people volunteer for this nightmare.

I could never stop her hate. She wanted to go home. So did I thought and Shine was my best way, and if they hated each other then hopefully they would kill each other and I wouldn't have to. I felt so bad for thinking that, but I knew it was true. I couldn't kill Lake. She was my friend, but Shine, she was debatable.

I was just nodding off when I heard it. A high-pitched scream filled with agony.  
"NIKITA!" someone screamed. I bolted up in the tree, forgetting about the rope tying me to the tree and grazing my stomach in the process. I quickly untied it and scrambled up the tree to where Lake was sleeping. Tears were pouring down her face. I looked at her arm and saw blood oozing out. She had the thickest cut; you could see her bone.

"LOOK OUT!" she said frantically. I whipped around nearly falling out of the tree. Shine was standing above me holding a knife, her eyes blood red. I tripped and fell out of the tree. My back shooting with pain. Shine jumped down after me still with the knife raised. My eyes filled with tears as she stood over me and started bringing the knife down. I closed my eyes and braced for the worse. I heard a knife soaring through the air and then a thud. I opened my eyes and saw Shine laying on the ground with a knife poking out of her head. I looked up and saw Lake's arm extended. I scrambled up the tree swallowing the pain from my back. I untied Lake's rope and held her close. I heard two cannon shots in the distance. I knew who they were for. I wish they hadn't gone off. This is just a dream. I rocked myself.

_**Chapter 12**_

I was two days into the Hunger Games and both my allies were dead. I climbed down from the tree and stepped away from Shine and Lake's bodies so the hovercraft could collect them. Tears were pouring down my eyes again and so I ran away from the tree. I could bear to see Lake so helpless. Gone. No longer breathing. These games were cruel and the people behind them had no idea what they had done.

That night I didn't want to watch the sky, but I did. Shine was first in the sky that night. Then the district 4 boy. Then a black sky. Where was Lake? She had died ,right? Then it hit me.  
"LAKE!"

I climbed the tree immediately.

"You idiot." Lake smirked when I got to the branch she was on.

" You didn't even check to see I was dead before bawling your eyeballs out." she added. But I could hear the pain in her voice this time.

I smiled.

"Here, let me help." I reached for Lake's arm.

" I told you not to trust that blood thirsty b****," she grinned cheekily, wincing as I tried to dab at her wound with my shirt. Lake tossed me a medical kit. I applied the tube of Antiseptic cream. Lake sighed.

"How is your back?" she asked me. I took a bandage out of the medical kit and applied it to her arm.

"Good. Still really hurts but I think I will live." I joked. Lake looked at me with sadness in her eyes. We both knew only one of us could survive. We were hoping that it would be different. That they would change the games. Just for us. We knew it wouldn't happen, but we were hoping. We snuggled up to each other and tied ourselves in for the night. We heard the Capitol anthem and looked up and the sky. Another three had died. That left seven of us. Lake, me, Myric, Hadon, the district 7 boy and two others. Not many left. These games were moving fast.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Lake sharpening her knife again.

"Morning." she said. I climbed down the tree to greet her. I grumbled a morning to her.

"Someone doesn't like mornings." She teased. I shoved her softly. Lake wagged her finger at me. We giggled. I went to collect some berries and then we ate them and started moving camp. We walked for a few hours, then sat down for a rest. I had just closed my eyes for a little bit when I felt Lake waking me up again.

"Niki, we need to move. I can hear someone coming. I have a squirrel for tonight." She said urgently. I quickly got up and gathered out stuff. I could hear footsteps getting closer and closer. We didn't stop running until it was dark. We collapsed against a tree and started setting camp back up. I made a small fire and quickly cooked the squirrel so I could put the fire out. I gave Lake a piece and gave one to myself and packed the rest into the backpack. After we had eaten, we settled into the tree and looked into the sky, waiting to see who was left. The anthem played and then the sky went black. No deaths today. I was worried. The Capitol usually got restless and would try and move the tributes closer together. We needed to be ready.


	5. Chapter 5

I was right. That morning I woke up to the sound of heavy thudding footsteps. I shook Lake awake and we started to climb down armed with weapons. Just as we got to halfway two people came thundering in. A boy and girl. The girl had dark brown hair and looked really worn out. The boy had long blonde hair down to his shoulders. Both of them were wet and scratched. I didn't want to know what had happened. They looked up and saw us and started looking at each other frantically. The boy whipped a bow and arrow out of his backpack and aimed it me. It skimmed my knee. I bit my lip, trying not to scream and attract more tributes. I couldn't look down to check how bad it was, but I felt like I was dying. Lake snatched the knife off me and threw it casually at the boy. It pinned his shoulder to a tree. The girl ran at him yanking the knife out throwing it at me. I dodged and it lodged itself in the tree. I got out another knife from my bag and Lake got a tiny dagger that I never knew she had. We made it mostly down the tree, Lake occasionally snapping off a branch and chucking it down at the pair. The boy had blood streaming down his arm and he seemed to have a limp. I suddenly felt bad for him, but this was the games. The girl kept running at us and then going back to the boy and by now there was tears pouring down his face, and he seemed to give up all hope. The girl was sprinting as fast as she could.

"I'll stay in these trees, I'm faster that way." Lake told me urgently.

I jumped down from the tree. I had misestimated the distance, rolling my ankle.

I ran, my ankle getting better along the way. I was relieved to see she didn't have any weapons, remembering that the boy had a bulging backpack and a bow and arrow, I had to smile at their foolishness. I caught myself just in time. What was I doing? I was turning into a career. These games are turning me into a monster. I caught up with the girl. Lake was already there. The girl had a dagger in her left arm. She punched me in the chest unexpectedly. It was painful. I jabbed my knife at her, striking her in the thigh. She screamed. Lake jumped down and landed on her. She saw Lake's cut on her arm and lunged, using all her energy and bit down of Lake's arm. Lake screamed in pain. I looked at the girl. She was rabid. We could defeat her later. I needed to get to Lake. I glared at the girl and she ran off. I heard thudding behind me, and I whipped around. The boy was limping towards me awkwardly. He tackled me to the ground, pinning my arms above my head. He reached for a knife close by and raised it. All of a sudden, an arrow is through his head and he toppled on top of me, grazing my forehead with the knife. Lake jumped out from behind a tree, still with the bow in her hand. She helped me push the boy of me and brushed my auburn hair out of the way, so she see the graze on my head. Then she kissed me.

The cannon for the boy went off. My knee and forehead were killing me and we had run out of antiseptic cream. Lake's arm looked even worse. Around the previous cut from Shine was a black and blue bruise. I looked at my knee. It wasn't as bad as I thought. But is was bad. I needed sponsors more than anything. I looked up at the sky and pleaded. Hoping Bronxton could hear me.  
"Please. Anything Bronxton. Please." I whispered to the sky. On cue, I saw a parachute coming down, making a chiming sound. I reached up from my sitting position and grabbed the parachute. A note attached to it said 'Apply generously. Keep it up Kita. -B' I wrenched it open and looked inside. I pulled out a tube of cream. I opened it and smeared it across my leg and a little on my forehead. My pain instantly eased.

"Lake! I have some cream!" I called out to Lake. She had moved over to the side after what had happened. Lake's face showing how much pain she was in. That bite was pretty hard. I eased her against a tree. I added the cream to her arm and relief rushed to her face. She smiled and me and whispered a thank you. She gave me a hug and I embraced it as much as possible. Soon, one pf us would have to die.

That night seeing the boy in the sky made me feel horrid. Her was from district 7 and was named Jaxon. Lake's district. The sky went black. 6 left. Me, Lake, Hadon, Myric, the girl and someone else. I racked my mind trying to think of who it was. Lake was already asleep in the tree. I told her she needed some rest and she tried to refuse but I won. I was lookout. We had decided we needed to get back into lookout habits, so I was first. I was sitting at the bottom of the tree eating some of the squirrel when I heard laughing through the trees. Familiar laughter. Menacing laughter. Myric's laughter. I scrambled up the tree to wake Lake up. I shove her awake and she understood completely. We put some cream on our injuries and grabbed the bow and arrows, knives and dagger. We silently climbed down the tree. Myric and Hadon burst through the trees whilst we were on the second last branch. I put my hand to Lake's lips and looked back down to the boys. They had a bulging backpack with a sword poking out of it.

"The wimps aren't here, Mi." Hadon complained to Myric.

If looks could kill, Hadon would've already won.

"I heard them okay. The other two came over here somewhere and then we saw the boy in the sky. They must be here somewhere." Myric replied confused. I smiled at Lake. I readied the bow to Myric's head and shot it.

"Hey Myric! Looking for me?" I called down as I let the bow go. They whipped their heads towards me and aimed knives at us. Seconds later the arrow lodged itself into his skull. Myric's smug face turned to shock as he realized what happened. He fell to his knees dropping the knife. His face was pasty white, and we could hear the cannon in the distance as he took his last breath and laid down with a thud.

Hadon's face filled with rage. He looked murderous. I grabbed a knife from Lake and jumped down. Lake followed me down the tree with the dagger. We had a great advantage over Hadon because we knew the surroundings. Hadon leapt forwards and threw me to the ground, knocking all the air out of me. Lake threw a dagger at Hadon and grazed his arm. Hadon didn't flinch and his focus stayed on me.

"Time to die wimp." Hadon grumbled as he stood over me. His blood dripped on to me. I was shaking as he raised a sword over my body and brought it down. I felt the sword pressing through my leg. I screamed, my voice shaking with pain. I wondered why he hadn't hit my heart. I looked up at Hadon trying to swallow the pain. His face was menacing. He raised the sword again and started bringing it down. Closer to my heart this time. At the last second I swiped his leg out from underneath his and scrambled out of the way just in time to see Hadon fall to the ground and throw the sword up in the air. The sword stuck into the ground, but I couldn't reach it. I couldn't even stand. Lake was not far away. She had been raiding the backpack and turned to see me in pain. Hadon was standing back up. I tried to warn Lake, but my voice was hoarse, and she couldn't hear me. He was charging at Lake and she wasn't ready. Hadon backed her up against a tree and held a small knife to her throat. She had a smirk on her face, and I knew she had something up her sleeve that he didn't know about. I was right. In the blink of an eye Lake had Hadon held up to the tree with a dagger to his neck. He was whimpering and looked scared. I managed to get a quick look at him whilst he was pleading with Lake. In his interview his blonde hair was slicked back, and his piercing blue eyes had twinkled with excitement and curiosity. Now his hair was matted and oily and the twinkle in his eyes had faded. His skin was dirty and bloodied.

"Don't _ever_ touch Nikita again." Lake said like a savage as she plunged the dagger into his neck. He fell to the ground and wriggled a bit before finally staying still as his cannon went off. Lake dropped the dagger, shaking.

"What have I done? Nikita?" She asked, looking at me for reassurance. Tears poured out her blue and green eyes. Her hair whipping her face in the wind. She came over to me and knelt down next to me. I held her close, not wanting to lose her. I pressed my lips up to hers and closed my eyes. I knew Bronxton would hate this, cuddling up to another tribute but I couldn't help my feelings. The sky dimmed and we looked up. We saw Hadon. Then Myric. Lake's face went pale and she started crying again.  
"Lake. You're okay. You're safe. It is okay." I whispered into her ear. She leant onto me and cried and cried. I felt bad for her. She wasn't used to this like I had been trained to do. This wasn't what I had expected but I still knew how to handle death. How to murder. How to kill others. Others with a family just like us and Lake didn't.  
"I love you." Lake said in between sobs.  
"I love you too." I replied softly. Lake climbed the tree and got the cream for me and applied it to my leg, that night I laid on the ground as I couldn't climb, and Lake tied herself in and fell to sleep under the stars. Four people left. Me, Lake, the girl and someone else I can never remember.

That morning we ran out of food. I looked up into the sky and tried pleading with Bronxton. It worked again. I opened up the parachute but there wasn't any food, only a medical kit. I opened it and saw a different cream and I smeared it all over my aching leg and wrapped it up in a bandage I had found. I used the tree to ease myself up. I could walk with the assistance of a long stick I had found. I saw a small lake and tried to catch some fish. No luck. Lake hadn't found any food either. I managed to find a few edible berries but that was nowhere near enough. We spent the whole day looking for food, with no success. These games must be ending. The gamemakers must be preparing for a feast. I went through my bag again and was delighted to find a tiny pack of crackers in a hidden pocket. Hunger overtook me. I opened the pack and ate the all of it in one giant mouthful. It was so good. I relished every crumb ripping open the packet and licking it up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lake looking around anxiously. I immediately feel horrible and guilty. I drop the wrapper and wipe my face, hoping Lake won't notice.

"Any luck?" she asks.

"No" I say, trying to sound casual. "Nothing" I felt guiltier than ever.

A few moments later, Lake bounded over, full of energy despite her injuries and lack of food. She opened her hand to several white slimy bugs.

"Witchetty Grubs" she announced proudly.

I was disgusted.  
"Ewwww! Are we supposed to eat them?" I whined.

"Duh. Here you go." Lake replied handing me some grubs. I forced a smile onto my face and put a grub in my mouth. I chewed it and swallowed it quickly. I could hear the squishing of the grub in my mouth and gagged. I looked at Lake and she was swallowing the grubs one after another. She saw the look on my face and laughed.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." she laughed. I laughed along with her and we started telling stories to each other about our time back in our districts. Lake said she had a twin sister named Saya. She said Saya had blonde hair like hers and a blue eye and a green eye, just like Lake. I look into Lake eyes and feel a pang of sadness. Only one of us could survive. I obviously wanted it to be me, but I couldn't imagine living without Lake. I push the feeling off to the side and tell her about Dakota and Xander. I would probably sacrifice myself if it wasn't because of them. Lake laughs when I tell her how cheeky Xander can be and cries when I tell her about the earring Dakota gave me. We eventually pack camp up and started moving. We are walking for what feels like forever when Lake points out a river off to our left. I hobble over to it and strip. I climb in and wash myself all over. Lake does the same. We childishly say 'don't look' to each other and giggle helplessly. After we were clean, we filled up the canteen and Lake climbs the closest tree. I can hear rustling and see a dead squirrel with a knife through it. I grab it and stuff it in my bag thinking Lake has done it. I lay down for the night and look into the sky and see nothing. I fall asleep with Lake in my arms not ever wanting to let go.


	6. Chapter 6

I wake up to the sound of rustling and I look around. I can see a shadow running through the trees towards us. My heart misses a beat when I realize who it is. It's the girl who bit Lake. I shake Lake awake and point out the girl creeping towards us. She leaps up and grabs the dagger. I stand up slowly and quickly apply some cream to my leg and wrap it up. I grab the stick and use the rope to tie an arrow onto the end. I jump up and hobble after the girl with Lake.

'Show yourself!" Lake yells.  
"Come out!" I yell.

I hear a scared whimper and a whispered pep talk.

I tense, feeling bad for the poor girl. Then I realize the only way I can get out is if she dies. I feel really bad thinking this, but I know that it's true. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open my eyes again and see Lake holding the girl up to a tree. I go over to her and see the girl smirking. She has a dagger hiding behind her back that Lake can't see. I try to warn her, but my voice is trembled and a sound that I didn't recognise came out of me. By the time Lake hears me, it's too late. The girl jabbed the dagger into her hand and Lake falls to the ground in pain. I rush to her side as fast as I can and help her up. I can feel how scared she is and how much pain she's in, but I can't do anything now. I hear a whooshing noise and see the dagger the girl had fly into a tree close to us. I whip my head around to see her and she is smiling and aiming another dagger at Lake.  
"NOOOOO!" I scream as she throws the dagger. I try and step in front of her to take the dagger, but I stepped too late. The dagger plunges into Lake and she falls to her knees just like Myric had. I kneel next to her and tell her I love her over and over again through my sobs. She looks me in the eyes, and I can see the life draining from her. I regret everything I said about this monster.  
"I love you Kita...win for me…" she whispers as she takes her last breath. I can hear the cannon and look back at Lake. I sob harder and harder. I hold her close even when the hovercraft come to take her away. I scream and hold her tightly. I know I look like a maniac, but I couldn't think clearly. I eventually give her a kiss on her cold lips and let go. I continue crying as she is lifted. I feel anger boiling inside her and pick up my stick. I turn around a throw it as far as I can. I can see the girl and a boy who I have never seen tackling each other on the ground. I realize that he is the reason the girl left me alone when I was with Lake in her dying moments. He sees me and throw a knife at me. It hits my leg and I collapse. I close my eyes, wanting it to be all over. I stay there, thinking about Lake, tears still spilling out of my eyes. I don't want to do this anymore. I can't without Lake. Her last words echo through my head. 'Win for me Kita,' and I get a sudden burst of energy and sit up. I look around for a weapon and see a knife lying next to me. I can see the others still tackling. I can see the girl and my blood boils. I throw the knife at her and it hits her right in the temple. Her cannon rings in my ears. I pick up a rock and throw it at the boy. It hits his head but no cannon rings. I feels tired all of a sudden and fall to the ground. I close my eyes and dream about a perfect life. I wasn't reaped and I was travelling. I went to district 7 and saw Lake. we fell in love and got married and had three beautiful children. I was awoken from my dream by the Capitol anthem. I looked up filled with pain from Lake. i saw the other girl I had killed. Then Lake. I looked into her blue and green eyes and saw the reflection of the boy laying across from me. I plucked up the courage to pick up the bow and arrow. I aimed it to his heart and closed my eyes. I let go an heard his small groan before I heard the cannon. I looked into the sky and saw the hovercraft pick him up. Then one came and picked me up. It was finally over. 

The pain from my leg is gone when I wake up. I am strapped up to heaps of machines and I can hear and occasional beep. I feel miserable and miss Lake more than ever. I try to get out of bed, but I can't, there is some sort of invisible force holding me down. I look out a window and see the whole of Panem. I see all of the different people milling around. They look like little ants. I stop struggling and fall asleep. I can see Lake pleading me for help. I can see Hadon wriggling on the ground. I can see all of the people from the bloodbath being slaughtered just for being a kid. I scream and wake up in a pool of sweat. I feel beside me looking for Lake, but I remember she isn't there. I remember what happened in the arena. I remember being reaped and every game before. I cry and cry until someone comes in the room and leads me of the hovercraft. My legs feel like jelly as all of the Capitol people cheer for me. I can't remember anything else after that. I can't remember anything. Finally, someone comes to take me somewhere. I see Alivior again and now I know what is going to happen. My interview for after the games.  
"No! No! I don't want too! They will show me my...my murders!" I shriek trying to find a way out, but there is none. Alivior tries to soothe me but I don't calm down. I shriek and yell until I have a sore throat all whilst Alivior stays calm and dresses me beautifully. A pale green dress with matching flats. Eventually, there is no fighting it, I have to go to my interview and witness what I have done. All over again.

The bright lights blind me as I climb the stage and make my way to the same chair that I sat in in my first interview. Lake sat here and a tear slides down my cheek.  
"Already making you cry, are we?" Caesar asks playfully. I nod my head and smile a little.  
"So tell us Nikita, how does it feel to be the 143rd Hunger Games victor?" he asks calmly.  
"Okay I guess," I mumble.  
"Well, maybe we should watch your recaps and then maybe it will be a little more than okay," he says with his winning smile. This earns a chuckle from the audience. Then the lights dim and the video starts. Every. Single. Kill. Is on the video. Mine and others. I learn how the others died but I also have to witness Lake's death. It plays the whole thing. Then shows me bawling over her. Tears stream down my face silently. I see every fight that everyone got into including mine. Too much Lake is in this video and I can't handle it. I leap from the couch and out of the building. I just want to go home. Caesar had followed me and sits down next to me.  
"I know you must feel terrible, and you don't have to come back in but I just want to let you know that those idiots in there, don't know what they are thinking when they cheer. Here look," Caesar says calmly as he pulls a sleeve, showing me a completely tattooed body.  
"What are they?" I asked through sniffles.  
"The names of every tribute ever. Victors and not. All over my body, out of sight." I look over his arm and recognize a few names from previous victors.  
"Is Lake on their yet?" I asked timidly.  
"Yes, of course. As soon as the games are over, I go and get them done. Here, take a look." He pulls down his high collar, revealing two names, linked together with a heart. The names are Lake and Nikita.  
"I don't want to go back in." I mumble.  
"Okay. You don't have too. I'll call someone to take you home," he replies. Finally, home. The place I have been longing for since my name was called. That all seemed like so long ago, but now, I can finally go home.


	7. Chapter 7

Dakota rushes into my arms as soon as I enter the door. Mum and dad are on the couch and congratulate me, but I can tell they were now terrified of me. I had killed people, so many innocent people. I don't blame them; I was afraid of myself as well. I had a quick second where mum looked like the girl and dad Hadon. I took a deep breath and smiled trying to forget about the arena. I see Xander peeking around the corner and looking scared. He is shaking and cowers even more when he sees me looking at him.

"Xander! I missed you!" I tell him in a happy voice. He starts crying and runs to Dakota. All the colour drains from her face and starts apologizing profusely.  
"Oh my gosh. I am so sorry Niki. He was forced to watch the games at the end and saw you umm…kill that other girl. You know the one that killed Lake," she stammers. I can taste salt and know that I am crying. My mum starts talking finally.  
"Nikita. Stop that blubbering. That girl was useless. Her name was stupid. I mean, Lake? What were her parents thinking?" Mum rants on about everything wrong with Lake and I can't stand it anymore. I reached over and slap her in the face and then run to my room and collapse on the bed and fall asleep.

Lake is calling my name. Her eyes pleading for me. The dagger plunges into her and she goes lifeless. It rewinds and happens again. Her eyes. The pain in her voice. The dagger. I scream for her. I feel a hand on my back and turn around and it's Dakota.  
"Dakota. Get out. It isn't safe. Get out of the arena." I tell her with urgency. She looks worried and holds me close.  
"Wake up, Niki. we are at home. The arena is gone." she soothes me. The arena melts into my bedroom and Dakota is sitting on the edge of my bed holding me. I lean on her shoulder and start bawling my eyes out again.  
"It's okay. Cry all you want. Try go back to sleep for me though okay." she tell me softly. I fall back asleep in her arms.

I wake up surrounded my peacekeepers. I scream thinking they are tributes. Mum and dad come running into the room to see what's wrong. They sigh when they see what I screamed about and tell that they are here to take me for my victory tour. I get dressed and say goodbye. Xander is still scared of me and tear fill my eyes. I manage to stop them and follow the peacekeepers outside to the train. I climb on and they take me around to all of the districts starting with one and ending with twelve. Each district the families at standing there on platforms with the tribute's pictures above them. I see Hadon and Shine and feel guilty. I manage to finish my speech. We skip district two because that's when I am from and we continue going through the districts. At district seven I see Lake's photo and Saya her twin standing there crying. She is the spitting image of her. Her eyes look at me. Mocking me. I could've saved her. If I wasn't so selfish. Tears spill out of my eyes and it it's like I can't control what I'm saying anymore.  
"I'm sorry! I could've saved her! I'm sorry!" I screamed. I collapse onto my knee, sobbing. The peacekeepers my arms and I try to resist but they're too strong. I scream and yell.  
"I am so sorry! It's all my fault! I'm sorry!" I sob. It's true. It was my fault. Everything that has happened to me is my fault. I am a monster.

When I get to district two and see Myric's smirking face in the sky, I feel horrible. I looked at his family and they were Jaidyn's parents. They were glaring at me with tears streaming down their faces. The dad started running towards me with his fists raised. He climbed onto the stage and reached out towards me. I gasped and stepped backwards. Then a shot ran out. His body collapsed. Myric and Jaidyn's mum screamed in agony. She had no family left and it was all my fault. I couldn't finish my speech and ran off of the stage. I could head the thudding of peacekeepers behind me, but I didn't stop. I ran and ran, afraid to turn around. What was wrong with me? I had killed so many people and I didn't even seem to feel bad. I collapsed on the ground and felt the peacekeepers yanking me into a standing position. I fought against them, like I had done in the training before all of this madness. I was dragged into the Justice Building and pushed into a room with hundreds of photos hanging on the walls. The door slams behind me and I pound on it until my fists are red. I give up and start looking at the pictures. They are of previous games and I wonder if there are any of these games and I pour over them for hours until I find them. The 143rd Hunger Games pictures. There are photos of in the trainings, the interviews and in the area. One picture stands out to me though. It's of me and Lake, My head resting on her shoulder and we are talking with a fire in the background. I couldn't remember that night. But I remembered how sweet and calm Lake was when we weren't being attacked. I looked around to make sure no one was watching me and pulled the frame off of the wall. I opened it and pulled the photo out. I placed it into y pocket to keep. My reminder of Lake.

I was allowed to go home after that. The photo safely tucked into my pocket. I crept up to my room and pulled the photo out. I held it close to my heart. A tear slid onto the photo and I left it. Ever since I had been reaped, nothing had gone well. Everything in my life was different and I hated it. I couldn't live with this guilt of…well…murder. I had killed so many innocent people. They were all just like me and I had killed them to save myself. I started hitting the wall. BANG. I remember how innocent and scared we all were. BANG. I remembered how bloodthirsty the careers had been. BANG. I remember how I had killed Shine. BANG. I remember how Lake had died. BANG. I remembered how the Capitol was watching us kill each other for entertainment. BANG BANG BANG. Blood was dripping down my hands now, but I didn't care. I kept on bashing that wall, like it was all the wall's fault. Tears were clouding up my vision. I closed my eyes, trying to forget everything that I had done, but I couldn't. the guilt inside of me was too much to bear. I crept downstairs and out of the house. I went to the tallest mountain and looked down and the meadow below. The wind was whipping my hair across my face. I could jump. No more suffering. I could finally be with Lake again. So I did. The wind pulled me towards the meadow, and I embraced it. Lake, here I come.

_And there she was. Lake was with me again at last. Waiting for me just as I would have done for her. I would have waited decades just to see her beautiful face again. Her blue and green eyes, glistening in the sun. I ran to her and held her in a hug for as long as I could. I could finally be happy again. The 143rd Hunger Games were a thing of the past. They no longer clouded my vision and the guild had all washed away. This was it. Happy again with no shame. Lake and I, together forever._


End file.
